Some objects, such as, for example, data cartridges, operate in several different physical environments, and it is desirable to track these objects in these environments and while they transfer between the different environments. For example, data cartridges containing large amounts of data are typically stored in data libraries, such as an Automated Tape Library (ATL) shown in FIG. 1. In many cases, the data cartridges are moved in and out of the libraries and even to different geographic locations throughout their lifetime. The problem is that the only information that goes with the cartridge in a readily accessible form is the VOLSER (Volume Serial Number) printed on the cartridge label, as shown in FIG. 2. Tracking cartridges by VOLSER alone requires an extensive VOLSER management system containing large amounts of information concerning associations and relationships with and between the VOLSER and other types of information that describe the cartridge and its contents. This system can be prone to errors and presents many difficulties in accessing, extracting, and sharing information.
Furthermore, it is desirable to closely guard or monitor the removal of the data cartridges from the libraries or data centers. In this case, it is desirable to know which cartridge was removed if an attempted security breach is successful.
There are some situations in which the data cartridges reside outside the ATL environment in manual slot racks. Tracking the location of all tapes as they are moved back and forth between the automated and manual environments is complicated by the need to maintain a 1:1 association between the number of cartridges and the number of manual slots. Since many thousands of tapes can be in libraries at any given time, there are many empty slots taking up valuable floor space. Another problem with slot management is the requirement to always put a given cartridge in the same manual slot, no matter where it may be located or how many empty slots may be closer.
In addition, the objects may sometimes be used in different types of environments. For example, the object may be used in an automated environment in which the objects are typically in a close proximity, highly aligned environment. Alternatively, the objects may also be used in a manual environment in which the objects are typically in a distant, unaligned environment.
Thus, there exists a need for automatically storing and retrieving data associated with the objects so as to track the objects as they move in and out of the different types of environments.